Language is a vital part of human’s ability to express themselves, highlighting a person’s identity. Through vast studies, language seems to be connected to identity, to a great extent, with cultural influences such as Multi-cultural London English and Bradford Asian English. A person’s language and speech also seems to limit, or heighten, job opportunities depending on what accent they possess.
Throughout time, prejudices against certain language and dialect in the work place has often occurred. For a long time Received Pronunciation, also known as the Queens English, was often nicknamed ‘BBC speech’, as all employees seemed to speak in this style of dialect. Whilst this has changed, giving broader varieties of accent and dialect a chance to be presenters, the issue of the prejudice towards certain types of language still lingers. In a more recent matter, Prince Charles ‘branded his own staff dunces’ for, apparently, not writing and speaking properly. This is because Prince Charles clearly believes that anyone who does not speak in Received Pronunciation doesn’t speak ‘proper English’. This highlights the way in which our language shapes people’s attitudes of toward others. People with northern accents have also been subjected to backlash, such as harsh Ofsted reports, with one women being told to lose her accent. By being told to lose her accent they are effectively asking her to lose a part of her own identity since language plays such an important role in it.
Despite this, there are many moments when people embrace their accent without any repercussions. An example of this is Bradford Asian English. People who originate from Pakistan but now reside in the United Kingdom use this language to feel a sense of their birthplace and unity within their culture. During interviews with students they said, ‘it’s where we live’ and that ‘its natural’, which reflects to us that it indeed shows a profound sense of their own identity. Furthermore, they discussed how the teachers use code-switching and Punjabi everyday which heightens even further the identity that they share. Moreover, code switching is an even more direct way of including your identity in speech as it is where a language, for example Punjabi, is included in every day talk, to remind people of their origins and roots.
Furthermore, other areas of the country, such as South London, use their language choices and diction to profoundly set them apart from anyone else. Like many others, they believe that where you live in the country, and in fact your location within a city, changes how you speak and the phrases that reside in your vocabulary. Despite people having a British heritage, by not conforming to the standardized RP many people felt as though they could branch out showing their identity through speech and language.
To conclude, I believe that language is strongly connected with our identity and does also shape our attitude of others. The strongest way it shapes our attitude is through the stereotyping that some accents are subjected to whilst people feel their identity through their language as it reminds them of where they’re from.
